Scottish Executive

Defence

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail any discussions it has had with the Ministry of Defence on the long-term future of Glencorse Barracks.

Ms Wendy Alexander: No. Discussions between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government are conducted on a confidential basis.

Defence

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17849 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 1 October 2001, whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty’s Government to establish why figures on defence research contract expenditure in Scotland are not available.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Defence research contract expenditure in Scotland is not available because the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Analytical Services Agency does not calculate the breakdown of research and development (R&D) spending on a regional basis. Due to the increasingly complex nature of the sub-contracting and partnering arrangements that permeate defence expenditure in this field, it is not possible to provide authoritative data on the regional breakdown of R&D spending without disproportionate cost.

Emergency Services

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18216 by Iain Gray on 1 October 2001, whether any of the emergency exercises involving nuclear accidents related to nuclear waste travelling by road or rail and, if so, when and where they took place.

Iain Gray: There was a multi-agency table-top exercise on 14 June 2000 at the Scottish Police College which postulated an accident involving a train carrying nuclear waste.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what statistical evidence it maintains on recidivism.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on reconviction rates of offenders is available from the Scottish Offenders Index, a statistical database that covers all convictions in Scottish courts since 1989 apart from those where the main offence involved was a motor vehicle or minor statutory or common law offence. A statistical bulletin based on this information, Reconvictions of offenders discharged from custody or given non-custodial sentences in 1995, Scotland , was published in February 2001, and is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 11876).

  Information on re-incarceration rates for prisoners released from custody was published by the Scottish Prison Service in January in a research bulletin titled Return to custody in Scottish prisons, which is available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 10938).

  Research is currently under way on recidivism amongst serious violent and sexual offenders. The outcome of this research will be reported in 2002.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.2 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001  regarding lack of appropriate work for prisoner rehabilitation in prisons and, in particular, about numbers of prisoners sitting in sheds with no work to do, workshops closed because staff were required for escort duty and the type of work undertaken in prisons.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.3 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 regarding the comments by visiting committees about the level of staff morale and that because of staff absences prisoners were locked up for longer periods.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.4 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001  that the practice of prisoners eating in cells where there is in-cell sanitation could be successfully challenged under the European Convention on Human Rights and what contingency plans are in place should this occur.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.6 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001  regarding suicide prevention; whether it shares the concerns of visiting committees that the practices of isolation in total silence, deprivation of conversation and companionship, and denial of access to music affect vulnerable prisoners held in anti-ligature cells, and, if so, what action it is taking to change these practices.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 3 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 on raising awareness and what action it is taking to raise public awareness of the existence and functions of prison visiting committees.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  A response to this and the other points made in the association’s Annual Report will be sent to the association shortly. A copy will be sent to the member.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 2.5 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 regarding the Scottish Prison Service’s Estates Review consultation process, who the Prison Service will consult with and how long this consultation process will last.

Mr Jim Wallace: Completion of the Estates Review process has taken longer than originally anticipated but it is considered essential that the financial costings are independently evaluated. The findings will be published later this year and a period of consultation will follow.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 4 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001 on the independence of visiting committees; whether it shares the concern of the association that the independence of these committees may be compromised as prison governors allocate and control their financial resources, and, if so, what alternative procedures it plans to put in place.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  A response to this, and the other points made in the association’s Annual Report, will be sent to the association shortly. A copy will be sent to the member.

  Most visiting committee costs relate to the travelling and other expenses of committee members. Most committee members are members of the local authority that appointed them, and their expenses are paid by their authority rather than SPS. The expenses of other members are paid by SPS, either by the relevant establishment or from a central budget. The functions of visiting committees are clearly laid down in section 8 of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 and in the Prison Rules, which include provision for committee members to visit prisons, hear complaints from prisoners and report any matters of concern to the prison governor and the Scottish ministers. Current funding arrangements allow for these functions to be carried out and committee members are in no way prevented from carrying out their duties by lack of funds. Current financial arrangements do not compromise the independence of visiting committees, and we therefore have no plans to change them.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will respond to Point of Concern 5 in the Association of Visiting Committees for Scottish Penal Establishments Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2001  on appointments; whether it shares the concern of the association with regard to the process of appointments to visiting committees for young offenders, in particular regarding the role of governors of such institutions in proposing candidates, lack of systematic review of committee member performance and a culture of unchallenged re-appointment, and, if so, what alternative procedure it plans to put in place.

Mr Jim Wallace: A response to this and the other points made in the association’s Annual Report will be sent to the association shortly. A copy will be sent to the member.

  Section 19(3) of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 (as amended) provides that the members of visiting committees for young offenders institutions shall be appointed by the Scottish ministers. In making these appointments, account is taken of the views of all relevant interests, including not only the governors of the institutions but the chairperson of each committee. I believe these procedures work well and have no plans to change them.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place for informing the Minister for Justice as to the views of prison visiting committees, whether these procedures require review and, if so, what plans it has to conduct such a review.

Mr Jim Wallace: Each visiting committee is required to submit an Annual Report to the Scottish ministers. In addition, a committee may at any time submit a report to the Scottish ministers on any matter which it thinks it expedient so to report. Such reports are usually submitted direct to ministers by the visiting committee concerned. There are no plans to review these arrangements.